Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) – Is it relevant anymore?

For over five decades, engineering colleges and polytechnics have featured this program. I am not questioning the relevance of electronics engineering; I am questioning the relevance of the “communication” part of it. Realistically, how many telecommunications engineering jobs are out there? Not many. So, why do we still continue to teach multiple communication engineering subjects? Same question about Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (EIE). How many Instrumentation Engineering jobs are out there? Why do we continue to have these courses in colleges? Don’t get me wrong. I am not opposed to teaching these subjects in colleges. However, I wonder if a degree program based on these subjects makes sense anymore.

Also, while Digital Signal Processing (DSP) can be an elective, I question DSP being a mandatory subject. I am sure lot of students would love me for this input :-)

I am in favour of just a single degree program titled B.E. (Electronics Engineering). Subjects such as VLSI Design, IoT and Embedded Systems must be taught at the UG (Bachelors) level. However, specialization in these subjects can happen at the PG (Masters) level. The curriculum (syllabus) of the electronics engineering program needs to be thoroughly updated to meet the requirements of the industry. My suggestions/recommendations:

Embedded Systems: All colleges do teach this for one semester, but it is very limited in scope. It is a good idea to start with 8085 or 8051 but a very bad idea to stop with it. Starting with an easy-to-understand device like the 8085 makes the students’ fundamentals strong before moving to more complex architecture.  However, the syllabus must include “modern” microcontrollers that the students will encounter once they enter the industry. The curriculum must include deep dive into the capabilities of modern Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the various stages of project building.

Fundamentals of Analog and Digital Communications: Basic communication principles, Different types of modulation etc. This should also cover all serial communication protocols used in Embedded Systems.

Instrumentation: This should be a mandatory subject as part of the degree program. Teach students how to use not just the DMM but also about function generator, oscilloscope and logic analyzer (Spectrum analyzer can be dealt with at the PG level). Students should be able to capture elusive glitches using the DSO, which is what the industry would expect from them. They should also be able to use complex trigger mechanisms and be able to capture/decode all serial communication protocols. This applies to USB-bus based logic analyzers as well. Knowledge of test-automation tools like LabView is very critical.

Debugging: A new course on how to debug Analog and Digital circuits must be introduced. As part of this course, teach the students how to analyze schematics and very importantly, interpret electrical and timing information in datasheets. The ability to read datasheets is super critical in the industry and as far as I know, not a single college teaches this as part of their curriculum.

Semiconductor (chip) manufacturing: This is going to take off in a big way in India. Sadly, this is not taught in any college.

C language: Need I say more? :-)

Perl/Python: Vital for scripting/automation. Must be a mandatory course.

I would be happy to work with colleges to upgrade their curriculum to industry requirements in order to make their students deployable (not simply employable) from day one. Please contact me if interested.